I don't care if people like Trump or hate him, if they voted for him or not; people just want to have a good time. They don't want to hear about immigration or whatever on a record or at a show.
Shooter Jennings
That's the thing I love the most - making records and creating new things. That's always the thing that grabbed me. Making records is the thing that I really love.
I feel comfortable in my own skin writing about the things that I like because I know that there are other people out there that understand what I'm talking about.
You know, when I was younger I was into all kinds of art - drawing, painting, all that stuff. But I played drums, played piano forever.
L.A.'s cool; I had a run with it to where it just pretty much wore me out. I love the weather and I have great friends there, great family, but I really cannot take a lot of the culture. Like Nashville, where everybody's a songwriter, everybody out there is an actor.
My generation is so tied up in television, computers, and video games. When we were born, MTV was already there. It was normal.
I think the first older artist I related to and loved was Bowie.
I would be happy to be a footnote in my dad's bio. I don't care about trying to be famous or prove that I didn't need him. Even if they say I'm riding his coattails, I'm confident enough in my own music that I don't worry about that.
My dad never liked labels, and neither do I.
Anything I write is going to be autobiographical and true to some degree.
My dream was always to be on the production side of things. Even as a little kid, when my dad would bring me to the studio, I always loved that.
Dave Cobb is someone who shows up every day and is playing guitar and never takes his eye off the ball. That's what the greats in music do. The music is in great hands as long as he's making it.
I'm in control of my musical career, which means more than awards and record sales. And that freedom is exactly what my dad fought for, too.
A lot of people that I've met who don't like country music just haven't been introduced to the old country.
Albums like 'Major Moves' or 'High Notes' - those still sound good to me.
If you are close to your parents or a grandparent, you watch as they get old and you learn so much from that, and it makes you want to learn more while you have time.
Being with my kids is really important to me, being a good dad and being around a lot.
I was able to be more reckless and now I still make mistakes, but having kids, you have a responsibility and these little people who are looking up to you for everything.
All of my records have been very personal, just writing more and more songs, you get better at being able to say what you feel.
I don't think I thought I was going to go into music, and I don't think it hit me until I was 13 or 14, and then I was gone. Just like that. At that point, there was nothing else that could keep my attention.
There was something about Hank Williams, Jr. that I really latched onto from an early age.
I misfired and said some things in the past about people, namely John Mayer. And I didn't have the guts to apologize.
I've had my fair share of words being twisted and articles being sliced and diced.
I can't get booked on the Fourth of July, or it'll be, 'Do you want to open for the opener for Toby Keith?' Hell, no.
The smartest thing I've done for my kids is writing a song about a holiday. Every year after that, even after I'm gone, they'll get a small check from the play it gets around the Fourth.
My kids are deep. My daughter plays music. My son, Black Jack, doesn't forget anything.
Me and my wife watch laser discs, and I collect old computers. And one of my regular models is a 1993 computer with Windows 98 on it. I just love old technology, and I don't know what you would call that. I'm just stuck in 1991, '92.
I won't say I'm analog. I'm not like Jack White. I'm more like 1991.
The biggest misconception my whole life is that I'm rich, that I had all this money from my dad, which I did not.
My favorite bands are Hank Williams Jr. and Led Zeppelin. When it's rock, it's '70s rock, and when it's country, it's '70s country. For me, it's the grit and dirt of music that I love so much.
It took me a little while to get sorrow under the belt enough to understand country music's lyrics and strengths.
I'm usually pretty punctual. I'm not one to like to be late. When I was younger, I was the guy who'd leave the house early if I had to get somewhere and drive around for a while until it got to be time to show up.
